Why This Badass 86-Year-Old Grandma Is Taking Over The Internet

They say aging isn't for sissies, and that's the truth. It's really hard growing old — your body begins to betray you, you get annoyed with things that never bothered you before and suddenly you have a harder time recovering from them.

Some people can't handle getting older and just give up. There's a lot of ageism out there, and older people (even as young as 50) have trouble getting jobs. Lots of people also don't want to be around elderly people, completely uncaring of the wisdom they have to impart.

Then there's the fact that your friends are constantly dying. 

Yeah, it sucks to get old. But luckily there's 86-year-old Baddie Winkle — alive, vibrant, and going beyond being a media sensation. She's actually making being old seem cool and badass.

Helen Ruth Van Winkle's (AKA Baddie Winkle) life changed forever the day she and her great-granddaughter were hanging out. Just for fun, they took a picture of Baddie dressed in one of her great-granddaughter's outfits and posted it to Twitter.

The picture immediately blew up. She now has over 1 million followers on Instagram, 223k followers on Twitter, and Miley Cyrus and Rihanna are among her many fans.

But Baddie isn't just killing it on the internet; while some seniors are happy to be working the drive-through window at a fast-food restaurant, she's the model for Dimepiece's State of Mind ad campaign.

"I'm in good health, I'm in good shape, and I have a pretty good figure for a woman that's 86. I guess I have to brag on myself," Baddie said in Cosmopolitan interview.

Baddie is a brand, with her catch phrase Stealing your man since 1928. 

Baddie says, "I really don't know how to be sexy. I've just always been sexy. I don't know how I did it."

She has some great advice, especially for other senior citizens. 

In Jezebel she said, "Wear the stupid-ass clothes young people wear, just to spite people who turn their nose up or whine about the stupid ass clothes young people wear."

All photos: Instagram/baddiewinkle

According to Baddie, she didn't have it easy. Her husband died 30 years ago, and her son 15 years ago. She'd never done anything noteworthy before her internet fame.

If there's one thing we can all learn from her it's that it's never too late. If you can't do the things you used to do, do something new — something you can do.

Being open to change and getting the fun out of whatever you can is possible for anybody, at any age.  It sucks to be old, but there's still joy, excitement, and love to be had.

OH, and she twerks, too!